The Radiohead effect

[Walkman]

Hi. its my first time posting, but ive been lurking for about a week since i got the game. First of all i have beaten it, and yes, i have mixed emotions about the ending. Not the best but definately not the worst. Have you seen Doom 3's? What i was going to say was that it seems from reading a lot of the threads here, that many people feel half life 2 missed the bar. Now im a musician so this maybe makes more sense to me, but its very much like say when Radiohead followed up OK Computer with Kid A. 3 years in the making and it was very much over shadowed by OKC. I think its kinda the same effect here. I think what many people might be missing is that Half Life 2 is brilliant is both its engine and structure, but is it really fair to judge it against its first instalment? Anyways, glad to be here. just wanted to see what everyones opinion was.

 

[Mr.Wotsit]

Hmmm...

I always thought Radiohead were a bit over-rated...

 

[koopa]

I'm not sure about your analogy - i'd say it was the opposite of that. The Radiohead case was when they moved on from one style of music to another. The problem was that people wanted one thing and got another, something they weren't really expecting. In HL2 they gave us something that was perhaps more similar to the first then we'd hoped, which is the opposite situation.

 

[polystethylene]

Yes. eh? Kid A>OKC on certain days of the week.


for the other days OKC>Kid A


are you from atease

 

[Walkman]

Koopa, good point. i guess that is a bit true. handt really thought of it in that perspective. polystethylene, sorry not from atease but i visit it from time to time. by the way i agree with you on the sometimes better than others. Kid a is a very fall album for me. i guess because thats when i first listened to it. i would like to play through the game with OKC cranked on my stereo. Fitting with the feel of the game wouldnt you say? lol

 

[ScRaTcH-A-HoLiC]

Hmmm...

I always thought Radiohead were a bit over-rated...

I second that.

 

[Hectic Glenn]

I second that.

I disagree...quality in a can

 

[HateCrime]

Radiohead? You're attempting to draw an analogy between an over-rated BAND whose music is mostly forgotten and Half-Life? ?

 

[koopa]

Radiohead? You're attempting to draw an analogy between an over-rated BAND whose music is mostly forgotten and Half-Life? ?

No, he's drawing an analogy between the reaction to the albums and the reaction to HL2.

 

[ship]

Dude, Kid A is so kick ass.

OK Computer is the best, but Kid A is daaaaamn fine.

 

[destrukt]

judge it against its first instalment?

2 = sequel.

but yeh, your analogy sucks.

 

[Walkman]

Wow. i just love warm receptions. first of all, destrukt, i was just saying that if you look at the story of half life as a trilogy, as many of us have been, you could say that they are instalments. ive heard the term used many a time to refer to the star wars trilogy, so its not that far out there, and it seems to take place in chapters or episodes. I suppose its simply a case of semantics. Secondly, the wording of my analogy wasnt the best, as i am quite terrible with focused writing. lol I simply used radiohead as the closest band i could think of. im not drawing a parallel between Radiohead and half life. The parallel could be drawn to a number of different albums by different bands. I was just using radiohead as an example. you expect one thing and get something else, or in the case of half life and its sequel you dont get much change at all. In my own humble opinion i think there was a great deal of change between 1 and 2, but i dont think it was a change that many people were comfortable with.